Good intentions … there can be no doubt that is what prompted jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor to angle his horse Cracking Thunder on an outward trajectory between the 600m and the 400m towards Michigan, whose rider, Georgina Cartwright, was still in some difficulty following an incident earlier in the running,
The field, in fact, had only travelled less than 100m in the 1200m contest when Michigan clipped heels, dipped sharply, dragging its back legs and sending Cartwright sprawling onto the back of the horse’s neck with her feet coming out of the irons.
Cartwright did very well to regain her balance as Michigan regained his stride and the duo raced on, but, with the saddle shifted forward, Cartwright was still unable to fully regain her irons.
At the time of the incident, Kyle Wilson Taylor and Cracking Thunder were all of four lengths behind Michigan but, as Michigan began to come back through the field racing wider on the track, Cracking Thunder loomed up just behind Michigan approaching the 600m mark after which Wilson-Taylor can be seen looking sharply to his left for the next 200m as he raced up alongside Georgina Cartwright’s mount.
Shortly after that, on straightening, Cracking Thunder, who had cornered five wide, left Michigan … who was taking no real part in the contest … behind, as Wilson-Taylor asked Cracking Thunder to chase as best he could down the home straight. A $41 chance, Cracking Thunder would ultimately finish unplaced, 4.30 lengths behind the winner He Knows, who caused a boilover when starting at odds of $61.
“Watching Georgina up in front of me, she was in all sorts of trouble,” explained Wilson-Taylor. “As we were approaching probably the 500m, I knew I was going to improve past her and I thought I may as well try and help her on the way past if I could.
“As I was getting close to her, I could see that the iron kept flicking back and catching on her saddle and that was why she couldn’t grab it. I just grabbed it and held it still for a moment so she could grab it and we just carried on from there.
“I was on a $40 chance, but it really didn’t matter what horse I was on … rider safety is more important than any race and that was what I was trying to help ensure.
“What happens if I just left her and she fell off and got seriously injured?
“Yeah, I did get reprimanded for my actions,” said Wilson-Taylor
The stewards were the ones who issued Wilson-Taylor with that official reprimand.
As related in the official steward’s report:
‘Stewards inquired into the reasons for Cracking Thunder being shifted wider from the 600m until approaching the 400m and losing ground.
‘K Wilson-Taylor, the rider of Cracking Thunder, explained that he had directed his mount out toward Michigan in an attempt to help jockey Cartwright to regain the use of her offside iron, which was caught behind her saddle, which he was successful in doing, as jockey Cartwright was able to regain her iron shortly afterwards.
‘Apprentice K Wilson-Taylor was none the less admonished for his actions as his actions had a clear effect on his mounts competitive chances and also had the potential to further endanger himself, his mount and jockey Cartwright and her mount.’
Plenty to debate on this one … perhaps … with both sides having arguably valid points, but, the bottom line is that thankfully it all ended well in terms of the riders and horses well-being!
And for that we are always grateful.
